Oak Hills Nature Committee begins work

Published 1:30 pm, Friday, January 16, 2015

NORWALK -- A panel formed to conserve Oak Hills Park's natural resources began its work Tuesday and found several areas to focus upon.

On Thursday evening, Elsa Peterson Obuchowski, a member of the Oak Hills Park Nature Advisory Committee (OHPNAC),updated fellow Oak Hills Park Authority (OHPA) members on the meeting two days earlier.

"It's not just the land where the walking trail is," Obuchowski said. "There's also the old leaf dump and there's another piece of land that's a little bit further to the west that also is at the southern end of the park."

Obuchowski said OHPA member Ernie DesRochers attended the meeting and provided committee members field cards -- information compiled by the Norwalk Tax Assessor's Office -- as well as a Geographic Information System map.

Several members of the OHPNAC plan to meet next week with Alexis Cherichetti, the city's senior environmental officer, to discuss the open space areas they're looking at.

One is the city's old leaf dump, which is located to the southeast, near Ledgebrook Condominiums.

The other parcel referenced by Obuchowski is off Scribner Avenue, on land that was subdivided, deemed unbuildable and acquired by the city, according to Cherichetti.

Clyde J. Mount, OHPA chairman and former city councilman, noted that the two areas addressed are not within Oak Hills Park.

"The two pieces of property that you're talking about are not part of the park," Mount said. "They are city properties that abut the park, and so the thought is, can we grab those and bring them into the asset of the park, as part of the nature, as part of conservation."

Mount praised the OHPNAC for its work thus far.

"It was a very good meeting, very productive meeting, a highly committed group of people," Mount said.

The OHPNAC's work comes as the OHPA moves to implement a new $4.3 million master plan for the 144-acre public park along Fillow Street.

The master plan calls for construction of a 36-bay, 270-yard driving range and Golf Learning Center off the 6th hole, and Nature Learning and Fitness Center behind the restaurant at Oak Hills Park.

The OHPNAC is focused on the proposed Nature Learning Center and other areas in, or near the park, that aren't used for golf. Its goals include precisely defining the boundaries of no-build areas to be preserved, securely protecting those areas as permanent open space, holding field trips and educational opportunities for young people, and development of the designated great lawn and rose garden.

"We're also looking into getting plaques to identify trees and other wildlife in the walking trail area," Obuchowski said.

She said one OHPNAC member, while recently on the walking trail, found a large beech tree fallen over the trail.

"It goes to show that maintenance of the walking trail is an ongoing thing," Obuchowski said.

"You should direct the superintendent to spare the trees marked for cutting … unless it can be clearly demonstrated they are dead," Lopaur said.

OHPA Superintendent Jim Schell said some trees have grown too big and "are getting in the way" of golf. Others are "casting shade and competing with grass." Still others are dead or dying, according to Schell.